York track standout embraces his roots

A simple wager of a nickel back in the early 1930s sparked a love of running into a young Massachusetts teenager, and that love has now reached three generations.

Jay Pinsonnault

A simple wager of a nickel back in the early 1930s sparked a love of running into a young Massachusetts teenager, and that love has now reached three generations.

The legend starts with Ted Vogel aboard a slow-moving trolley on his four-mile ride from school to his home. Vogel said something like, "I could run home faster than this trolley would get me there."

Some naysayer dismissed Vogel's claim and bet him a nickel he couldn't do it. Vogel took the challenge, beat the trolley home, collected his winnings and the rest is history.

Vogel, whose grandson, Joe, is the captain of the York High School boys indoor track team, later went on to run in four Boston Marathons. He also placed 14th overall and was the first American to finish the marathon at the 1948 Olympics in London in a time of 2 hours, 45 minutes and 27 seconds.

"Him running in the Olympics is awesome," said Joe, a senior who also has competed in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track all four years at York. "It's a great story to tell people. He's real interesting to talk to. His stories inspire me and, coming from a family of runners, it helps me push to do well and get better. He comes to my meets whenever he can, but usually when I see him we usually talk about his stories. I've heard a lot, but there are so many I still haven't heard from him."

Ted, in his first Boston Marathon, placed 15th in a time of 3:03:36 in 1944. He placed ninth in 1946 in 2:44:24, third in 1947 in 2:30:10 and was second in 1948 in 2:31:46. In 1947, Yun Bok Suh of Korea won and set the world record in 2:25:39. Ted qualified for the Olympics by winning a qualifier in Yonkers, N.Y., and his last marathon was the 1948 Olympics at the age of 23.

"The Olympics was a pretty dramatic event for me," Ted said. "I was the first American but I thought I would be better than I did. I was hoping to make it in the first three, but then I wouldn't have been happy because I was so close to winning it."

Joe's father, Art, was a runner at the University of New Hampshire in 1970 and 1971 before transferring to Iowa State.

Ted, now 89 and living in Dover, N.H., and Art make it to as many of Joe's meets as they can.

"It's great watching Joe; it keeps us young," Art said. "I grew up and my dad was a national champion and was a world-ranked runner. I always strived to be as good as he was and I never was, but I was OK, and Joe is really faster than either one of us was at his age. It's a lot of fun for both me and my dad to watch him. The coaches at York have really developed Joe into the top athlete and person he is today."

The two elder Vogels took in York's meet against Traip Academy last Thursday at the University of New Hampshire. All Joe did was win four events, including the 55-meter dash (6.9 seconds), 800 meters (2:10) and long jump (19 feet) — all state qualifying marks — and was a member of the 4x160-meter relay team with Dan Cannata, Sean Kelly and Adam Briggs.

"It's awesome having them at the races," Joe said. "It really encourages me to keep running, especially with Papa (Ted), we're lucky to have him around. He was a great runner, and running for me kind of brings back when they were running and it means a lot to me that they come."

Ted stopped running competitively at the age of 23, shortly after the London Olympics and graduating from Tufts University.

"My wife was anxious to get married and she wasn't anxious to get married to somebody running marathons," Ted said. "I had to decide what I wanted to be, a father or a marathon runner, so I dropped out and just ran for recreation."

Art witnessed, as a teenager, his father's final national accomplishment.

"One of the most memorable things for me was back when I was Joe's age," said Art, now 59. "It was the last Knights of Columbus indoor track meets at Boston Garden and they had the Masters Mile just starting at the time. My father was invited to compete in it and they had the national champion masters miler in the race. My dad trained for about four weeks and he ended up outkicking the national champion and won the race in 4:49 — when he was 45-years-old."

Joe started competing in track and field for York Middle School, as his older brother Mark was setting school records at York High School.

"I looked up to Mark because he had several records and I just kind of followed him around," said Joe, the youngest of three Vogel brothers. "Originally, I got into running because my family has been running forever; that's how I came into it, and ended up loving it. My brother Mark played soccer in the fall, but I decided to run cross country like my father and grandfather, who were great distance runners. I wanted to be like them."

Joe wants to follow in his footsteps next fall and run for Iowa State.

"I plan on running track and I want to go to Iowa State," Joe said. "That's where my dad went and they have a fantastic track program."

Joe has no individual records, but is part of several relay record-setting teams. He is most proud of last year's spring season when he, Thomas Rasche, Kevin Martin and Tucker Corbett broke a 31-year-old record in the 4x400-meter relay team by three-tenths of a second.

"That's the one I am most proud of, we didn't get it by much, but we got it," Joe said.

There is one more record Joe would like to break in the spring — his brother Mark's in the 400.

"I really want that one and I think with Josh (Brooks) pushing me, I can get it," Joe said. "Hopefully, I can get lucky in one race."

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